Fiat 500 Power Steering, steering wheel airbag removal, steering clunk issue, changing key battery

[@Salvatore3333]

It worked Sir, the clonking has gone, the intermediate shaft was dry, WD40 and greased it, all cool, so far, thanks a lot it really helped , you are good.

[@fiatofgreenville]

Most welcome Salvatore! A synthetic grease works well because it does not dry up.

[@heberthybr]

Nice job sir! Very informative! This clonking is driving me crazy. Rgds from Brazil!

[@teapee6363]

Good thing you kept the original key they are really expensive, this video was awesome ty very much

[@alij.7390]

$222.99 now wow! great content sir!

[@rurban9874]

Thank you for all the good info for us Fiat holdouts. The 500 is a great car and I wish Crysler would bring them back to the states. At least the Abarth model.

[@fiatofgreenville]

Please take a look at the 10 minute mark for information about a steering wheel clunk. You only need to take out the bolt behind the gas pedal which is 17 mm socket. Pull the shaft open and coat the sliding pieces with synthetic grease, then reinstall the bolt.

[@fiatofgreenville]

If the clunking is only coming from the slow left and right turns then it would be the intermediate steering shaft which I talk about almost at the end of the video. You only need to take the bottom bolt out behind a gas pedal, pull the shaft open as long as it can go and put some synthetic grease in there. Just make sure you put the bolt back in the exact same way do not rotate the steering shaft. You can rotate the steering wheel so that the bolt is it is exposed but do not touch it or move the steering wheel after you have detached it. I marked the baldhead before I take it out so that I know I have the exact torque.

[@fiatofgreenville]

I had the same problem with noise coming from under the car and it took me a long time to figure out that it was the eve app canister which is located in the center just above the rear axle it looks like a printer cartridge. Just rap it with your hand and you’ll probably hear the rattle that you are experiencing.

[@heberthybr]

Now... what I cant figure it out is the noise on bumps on the back suspension. Ive already changed the pair of shock absorbers, pair of rear axle bushings, etc... and nothing solves the noise, especially when going through potholes, speed bumps and uneven asphalt.

[@dhunch]

I am working on my daughters 2012 fiat 500. Replacing the ignition switch. Do I need to remove the steering wheel to get to the bolts on the ignition switch or is there an easy way to get to them while it is in the car

[@kenanurer8]

hello in my car, when I turn the steering wheel to the right and left, there is a knock, what could be the reason, when I took it to the service, they told me to change the column.

[@rtool]

I don't know if my clunking has to do with that shaft but ill give it a try. Thanks!!!

[@fiatofgreenville]

Just mark the shaft bolt head position and shaft connection with a magic marker, remove the hex bolt (behind the gas pedal) and pull the shaft up, lubricate it well with white lithium grease and put it back, torque it down to its original position, it may just go away. This is very common problem.

[@rtool]

@@fiatofgreenville Thank you!

[@briankhan007]

Do you have a video of changing the Ignition Starter Switch housing?

[@derargentinier8879]

great video !

[@georgeekonomakos3124]

Did the new power steering motor / module need programming

[@JonOlaivar]

Thanks so much!

[@fiatofgreenville]

You’re welcome Jon I hope it helps. The steering clunk issue is a widespread problem and it can often be resolved with repacking the shaft overlap with some synthetic grease that will not dry out.

[@UPdan]

Where did you buy the intermediate?

[@mikemike9033]

Dear Sir , could you tell me how to remove the whole steering column without breaking the frame under the dashboard? I will be very grateful if you can give me some hints.

[@fiatofgreenville]

Hi Mike I think will make it easier for you is to take the knee airbag out, remove the steering wheel assembly, carefully take off take the clock spring out and disconnect the intermediate shaft in the back...then you really have just two bolts and you can work the unit out without having to bring it forward just drop it down toward the pedal area.

[@mikemike9033]

many thanks to you John, i will try it

[@Peregar4ik]

So the whole front panel doesn’t have to be taken out in order to change the steering motor? I.0

[@sara78130]

Hi I’m have Fiat 500 I replace still same problem

[@fiatofgreenville]

Rotate steering wheel to expose the bottom bolt on the intermediate shaft behind the gas pedal. Mark bolt position so you can return it to the exact same placement later.Take the bolt out of the bottom of the intermediate shaft it is a 17 mm socket and be sure to mark the bolt position before you remove it so you know exactly how much to tighten later. You don’t need to take the shaft out from the top just the bottom connector Lift the shaft off of the lower connector and then pull to extend it fully. Use some synthetic grease like Super lube (shown in video at 11:30 mark) on the inner shaft moving it back-and-forth several times open and close to try to get as much grease in there as possible. Reconnect the shaft at the bottom put a little blue Loctite on your bolt and reinstall.

[@Barrycomedian1]

Hello. Informative video! I have a 2012 Fiat 500 sport and in extreme cold (20 degrees) the electric power steering will not function until the car warms up a bit. Usually few mins. When this happens the charger light is on. New battery.but it happend with the old one too. After few minutes it goes off and I have control of the power steering again. Have you any experience with this? How can it be fixed? Thanks Barry NYC

[@fiatofgreenville]

Hi Barry., I had an issue similar on mine before it finally stopped working. My suggestion is to really take a look at your battery and it’s condition. You may have a weak battery especially with a cold so if the battery is more than three years old I would consider changing it, or at the very least clean the cables connections especially the negative ground. If you can get under the car to clean the two wire mesh engine ground strap connection points that would be helpful. I have been buying a NAPA #7547 legend series battery that has 660 CCA which is far better than the Fiat 500 CCA battery and it’s often lower in price.

[@Barrycomedian1]

@@fiatofgreenville Hi John.thanks for the reply. I bought the car with 80k Sept 2018..and all was great within first week after driving to work, I turned the key and lights on but no crank no nutin! Long story short this happen 4 or so more times over the course of the year with a few tows later, we replaced the starter and cleaned out the shifter assembly. I heard about that mesh part and my mech friend replaced that part.so far so good. He told me the power steering is electric. The battery is 1 year old. So, I was hoping you might know. Do you think replacing the power steering assembly might help. Its got 94k on it now. I was told as a preventive measure to replace the timing belt? Thanks for your advice. I subscribed to your channel too!

[@fiatofgreenville]

@@Barrycomedian1 just make sure your grounds are good on the mesh strap and also you can slightly loosen the starter bolts and then retighten to make sure there’s no corrosion around them. The battery post connections are very important because they can be the cause of a number of false codes. Replacing the steering unit is not easy as you see in the video. You’ll see a big red wire connecting the steering assembly right near your left knee sitting in the driver seat, make sure it is plugged in good, it could be a simple as that.

[@fiatofgreenville]

If you take the video and go to the nine minute 50 second mark you will see the terminal connections under the steering unit.

[@Barrycomedian1]

@@fiatofgreenville thanks John..Im going to show the video to my mech. Appreciate it...be safe!

[@Hooligans-N-Frames]

My 2014 fiat 500 power steering indicator just turn on with ESC indicator as will would you know what would be the cause of this?

[@fiatofgreenville]

It’s possible that the battery is either low charge or the terminals especially the negative has some corrosion on it, take those off and inspect them very well and then try to again. If you have the original battery they only last about four years

[@Hooligans-N-Frames]

@@fiatofgreenville thank you but I fix the problem I removed the esc fuse and power steering fuse they were not blown but had signs of arching burn marks cleaned them off and now I no longer see the indicators on but it's only been 10 mins since I've done that. I'm aware that its quite possible that it's only a temporary fix. Also found out that the brake switch underneath the brake padel sometimes are faulty went ahead and replaced it some people had said that had fixed the problem as well. The part is only 8 dollars

[@Hooligans-N-Frames]

@@fiatofgreenville but thank you I'll still take that under consideration incase it happens again

[@hozjo]

Hey John, the EPS failed in my sister's '12 fiat 500 sport so I'm looking to swap out the unit. I was wondering if you knew if I needed a EPS unit from the same trim level, or if one from a Pop or Abarth would also work? If it was just the motor I'd be confident swapping any in, but with the board/ ESC control module there I'm not sure if there's some difference in the chips/programming.

[@fiatofgreenville]

No I believe they’re all the same. Remember you’ll have to swap out the key switch. It’s been pretty rare to have a power steering unit failure so I will just make sure that you don’t have some minor issue somewhere that is causing it not to work. Try swapping out the battery with one it’s for sure good because a weak battery could cause a power steering to not work.

[@hozjo]

@@fiatofgreenville Was diagnosed by her dealer as needing a new module for $2650 but I'll give everything another check. She does live in a area with cobblestone streets and drives like a maniac, so all that vibration might have contributed to a failure. ;-) When I was looking around for solutions online I noticed there are services in the UK that will rebuild FIAT (and other electric) power steering modules for you, wish people did that here. I'm guessing its as simple as a failed resistor or bad solder on the board but everyone wants to throw the whole thing out rather than try and track down and fix the actual issue.

[@fiatofgreenville]

I don’t think it makes any difference if you have a pop sport lounge or Abarth model donor car. You will have to change the ignition key by removing the bolts as shown in the video. I don’t think it’s possible to swap out the electronics so it’s better to get a complete unit. I would check LKQ or pull apart yards because you can buy those units for less than $100. I was just saying that be sure to check all fuses related to it and like I said a weak battery could cause the power steering unit to at least temporarily fail.

[@hozjo]

@@fiatofgreenville Thanks for the reply and info not sure I'd try doing this without your video. Got the old unit out today, gonna put the "new" one in there tomorrow and hope it all works.

[@fiatofgreenville]

@@hozjo it’s not that bad just take your time as I said in the video the special offset box end wrench will help you get the two bolts loose